From ADO Den Haag to Shrewsbury Town: Sam Stubbs reflects on his brief stint abroad

Shrewsbury Town defender Sam Stubbs has reflected on his brief spell in Holland, describing it as the “best period” of his career.

After being released by Wigan Athletic, where he came through the youth ranks, Stubbs joined Middlesbrough in 2018. It was there he earned a loan move to Hamilton Academical in Scotland, making 20 appearances, before being recalled and sent out to Dutch side ADO Den Haag.

The 27-year-old, who joined Shrewsbury last summer, made just eight appearances in the Netherlands as the season was curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the centre-back still looks back on his time abroad as a major highlight of his career so far.

He said: “It was a while ago, yeah. Amazing.

“I look back and it was probably the best period of my footballing career up to date- amazing.

“Just from the minute it started. The only bad thing is it got cut short because of Covid-19. But, it was a really good time.”

Following a poor start to the season, manager Alfons Groenendijk resigned in December with Den Haag second bottom of the Eredivisie.

The club appointed former Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United and Southampton manager Alan Pardew until the end of the season - a coach Stubbs played under.

Pardew took charge of eight league games, winning one, before the campaign was abandoned in March with Den Haag 17th, seven points from safety. The club avoided relegation following the league’s decision to void the season.

Stubbs returned to England at the end of the campaign and joined Fleetwood Town in September 2020, before later spells at Exeter City, Bradford City and Cheltenham Town.

During his time in Holland, Stubbs faced several high-profile players, including current Inter Milan defender Denzel Dumfries, and came up against a number of top Eredivisie sides such as AZ Alkmaar, PSV Eindhoven and Ajax.

“The level was top,” Stubbs added. “The level was really good.

“Alan Pardew was the manager, so I had an elite level manager. We had Crysencio Summerville, he's obviously flying in the Premier League now. The career was obviously amazing.

“But they had boys that were in and around the Dutch team. We played Dumfries, teams like AZ, PSV, Ajax, so it was a proper experience.

“It was a proper move, and the club was amazing. People don't realise, Den Haag is the second biggest city in Holland, so the club very much expected them to be the second biggest club in Holland, which it wasn't at the time.

“They were going through a bit of a tough time. They have been relegated since. But it was a proper football club.”